Infinite Loop —

Five features iOS should steal from Android

We have a few ideas for what Apple should copy. Do you?

If you've come anywhere near a tech site in the last year or so, you've heard it all before. "iOS is getting stale compared to Android! It needs some new ideas!" Whether that's actually true is up for (heated) debate, but those with an open mind are usually willing to acknowledge that Apple and Google could afford to swap a few ideas when it comes to their mobile OSes.

So in a fantasy world where we could bring over some of the better Android features to iOS, which features would those be? Among the Ars staff, we sometimes have spirited "conversations" about what aspects would be the best for each company to photocopy. So, we thought we'd pick a few that might go over well with iOS users. Don't worry, we have a companion post of features that Android could afford to steal from iOS. The copying can go both ways.

No one wants iOS to become Android or vice versa. This is about recognizing how to improve iOS with features that would be useful to people depending on their smartphones for more than the occasional text or phone call. We recognize that Apple tries to keep an eye towards elegant implementation, too. So which features are we talking about? Glad you asked...

Google Now-style contextual services

For those who aren't familiar with Google Now, it can be a little complex to explain due to its wide range of services. (Check out Ryan Paul's writeup about it last August here on Ars.) On one side, Google Now does Siri-like voice actions, but that's not the part we want Apple to take from Android. The part we want is Google Now's ability to provide notifications and other services based on a range of contextual information, such as your location, whether you're physically moving or not, your schedule, and so on.

"Google Now can display similar routing and traffic notifications for places that the user intends to go, by scanning the upcoming appointments in the user’s calendar. When the user approaches a mass transit station, the software displays transportation schedules. It can also inform the user when they are close to points of interest—but living in the incredibly dull suburbs outside of LA, I have yet to see this feature in action," Paul wrote in his piece.

But Google Now can do other things too, like examine your past search history in order to find out which sports teams you follow regularly or whether you've looked up a flight recently. The service will then start offering you notifications with updates about this information. Or, as Ars Technical Director Jason Marlin pointed out, Google Now can remind you that visitors are in town based on forwarded itineraries in your e-mail, or alert you that a package is out for delivery—all without you having to set up those kinds of notifications.

There will certainly be users who don't like the idea of Apple automatically filtering through their e-mail or constantly reading their GPS location. But it should be something you can opt in and out of easily. And for those of us that are more comfortable with such a feature, wouldn't it be nice if Siri could perform these same (or similar) functions?

Quick settings in the Notification Center

There are some device settings we just plain use more than others on a daily basis. For me, it's the Wi-Fi on/off toggle on my iPhone, because my very Comcastic home Internet connection can't seem to stay up when I need it. For others, it might be the screen brightness control, the Do Not Disturb switch, or the Personal Hotspot toggle.

Android users are able to access certain settings via their own version of the Notification Center, allowing them a quick and easy way to toggle these without having to jump all the way out of an app, into the Settings app, and back. As reviews editor Florence Ion said, "It’s frustrating having to switch back to the settings to take care of the brightness if I’m in the middle of watching something on Hulu."

If you could pull down the Notification shade while inside of a third-party app, you could adjust the brightness (or turn off Wi-Fi, or turn on Do Not Disturb) without having to leave the app in the first place. At the very least, a feature like this would greatly reduce the number of taps required in order to get a task done, thereby simplifying the usability and making the iOS experience that much more enjoyable.

Autocorrect and spelling suggestions

It's no secret that Apple's method of offering spelling suggestions and autocorrect can be a huge frustration for iOS users. You're just typing along with your thumbs when iOS decides something you've written—perhaps street names or just plain obscure words—isn't right. At this point, iOS begins to tell you what word it's going to autocorrect to if you don't tap on your original word to tell it "no." If you're like me, you tap on your original word over and over and over with your fat fingers, but iOS autocorrects to its own word anyway. Then you have to backspace over the entire thing and start over—usually battling with iOS yet again over the spelling of your original word. Wash, rinse, repeat.

And, of course, there is no directly user-editable word dictionary in iOS. You either have to enter your obscure words as text macros (which is not exactly the original intention of that feature), or simply hope the app in question eventually figures out the spelling you wanted after entering it a thousand times.

There has to be a more elegant way of doing this, right? Android users seem to have the better end of the stick when it comes to handling autocorrections and spelling. When typing out a weird word, the OS will offer alternate spellings as buttons above the keyboard. But more importantly, if it manages to autocorrect your word to something you didn't want, a single backspace will restore the original spelling. And, it will ask you if you want to add that word to your dictionary to boot. For the sake of all our sanity, Apple should adopt this kind of autocorrect behavior, stat!

The ability to set default apps

You know the drill: perhaps you prefer Chrome over mobile Safari on your iPhone, but every time you tap a link from e-mail it opens in Safari anyway. Or perhaps you like Google Maps or Waze, but anytime you try to get directions from another app, it forces you to use Apple's Maps app. There's no way to change which apps are used by the OS as defaults for these actions—you're held hostage with Apple's own apps as the default.

Do iOS users know how to beat a dead horse on this topic? Yes. But that doesn't make this feature any less desirable, especially since our Android-using friends get to throw it in our faces all the time. When they launch a new browser, the OS asks them if they want to set it as the default—thanks to the fact that Android can recognize when you have multiple apps installed to perform similar functions. Alternately, they can change their default apps in their settings by going into an application manager to choose whether that app launches by default for certain functions.

"The nice thing is that with pictures, for instance, I can select which app to edit in without going into another app and looking it up in the gallery," Ion said. Indeed, while perhaps not every iOS user wants this feature, enough of us care about it to make it a worthwhile addition to iOS.

Home screen shortcuts to places within apps

iOS allows users to set home screen icons that act as quick bookmarks to Web apps or other Web pages in Safari. This is pretty convenient, but you can't use that same functionality to set a shortcut to a "page" or functionality within native apps. Our Android friends can, though, giving them easy access to certain information without having to navigate there every time.

"I can set a shortcut in Google Maps Navigation as an icon on my homepage. For instance, if I’m lost in the car and need to get home, all I have to do is press the icon that I made and it launches the Navigation to my home address," Ion said. "I know that iOS has this for bookmarks and the like, but I like being able to do this with specific applications."

Indeed, there are numerous iOS apps I use on a regular basis that force me to navigate all the way through several screens before getting the information I want. If I could create a new home screen icon that links directly to a certain functionality within an app—third-party or otherwise—it would significantly cut down on taps. (And in the winter when it's 11°F outside, that means less time with my poor, uncovered flesh being exposed.)

This may be the least likely of all the suggestions here, but it's one that could be potentially useful to the greatest number of users. Just think: how many of you have at least one iOS home screen shortcut to a Web page? Exactly.

What else?

We're sure you're eager to tell us which features you think should be brought over from Android. Or perhaps you have ideas on how to better implement some of the suggestions we offered. Either way, let us know in the comments what you think. The most interesting, weird, or just plain creative ones may make their way into a followup post.

Jacqui Cheng
Jacqui is an Editor at Large at Ars Technica, where she has spent the last eight years writing about Apple culture, gadgets, social networking, privacy, and more. Emailjacqui@arstechnica.com//Twitter@eJacqui

Is it this time of the year again? Aren't we tired to dance this dance? Apple will never allow sideloading apps or installing different keyboard or widgets or what else makes iOS more complex. The focus of iOS is to be the "grandma phone/tablet": to be so simple that your grandma can use it. And the reached that goal. If you don't like that, move to another platform, because Apple does not change a estabilished product.

Fact is, my elderly parents parents are getting an Android phone, because I can change the launcher to the big.huge one designed for poor eyesight, and it includes a specific keyboard and default fonts that are larger.

Android doesn't have a specific "kids mode", but allowing multiple user profiles on a machine is a step towards that. Amazon has made a kids mode for Kindle Fire called "FreeTime." Windows Phone 8 has a mode called "Kids Corner." iOS currently has a feature called "Guided Access," but it's more useful for schools and retail store displays.

Amazon's FreeTime provides a sandbox where kids can use the device like any other tablet, but they are limited to the apps and content that the parent has setup for them. This protects adult content and information from being seen or corrupted by a child who is using the device. Windows Kids Corner is a very similar concept.

I'd like to see a similar feature come to iOS. My son likes to interact with several apps on my iPad. I've created a home screen that contains all his apps, but he's a smart bugger and can get around the iPad no problems. Guided Access works, but it locks him into a single app. This frustrates him when he wants to switch between apps (gets bored). I'd like to compile a list of apps that can be used in a sandbox'd Kids Mode when I let him play on the iPad. That way he doesn't get frustrated by being limited to a single app and I don't have to worry about him playing games or viewing content that he isn't supposed to access.

I have 4 kids. the 2 and 4 year olds might have one set of apps they play. The 10 and 13 year olds would be allowed a different set of apps. I'd like iOS to be able to handle multiple sandboxes for the different children.

Maybe this could be implemented simply by allowing multiple users to login and include a profile setting that indicates whether the account is a child account or adult account and have the parent configure the apps for each account. Just give me something that works in a way that the entire family can use the same iPad.

I just want iOS to be able to share data with other apps standard rather than having to be specifically designed to do so. For instance... Many apps let me send data to maps... But I can't send map data FROM maps to other apps. Sometimes I end up having to email myself information to be entered into another app because the app I'm using doesn't let me copy all text fields.

I already have an iPad 3 but I wanted to mess around with Android. I just received my Nexus 7 this weekend and while Android (4.2.2) doesn't appear to be as polished as iOS I do like some features, like the gesture sign-in or the quick access to network settings via the pull down. On the other hand it seems to be a bit buggy: apps install on the third screen and I have to move them to the first, the background moves as you scroll the screens, the keyboard pops up when not needed and it already hung once over the weekend. Google maps rock though, I already got a car mount and can't wait to give it a shot!

I already have an iPad 3 but I wanted to mess around with Android. I just received my Nexus 7 this weekend and while Android (4.2.2) doesn't appear to be as polished as iOS I do like some features, like the gesture sign-in or the quick access to network settings via the pull down. On the other hand it seems to be a bit buggy: apps install on the third screen and I have to move them to the first, the background moves as you scroll the screens, the keyboard pops up when not needed and it already hung once over the weekend. Google maps rock though, I already got a car mount and can't wait to give it a shot!

So by apps install on the third screen I am assuming you mean that there is a shortcut installed on the third screen of the launcher. One of the changes in the play store app that I don't like is that they automatically install the shortcut on one of your home screens. I have disabled this by going into the settings of the play store and unchecking the Auto-Add Widgets option. This allows you to keep your home screens clean and only add the shortcuts and widgets that you want. Of course all the applications are available via the app drawer and can be organized in several different ways. It is a very different way of doing things as compared to the iPhone where the there is only an app drawer.

The scrolling background is a feature. It is supposed to shift a little. IDK if there is a way to disable it without rooting if it bothers you.

As far as the keyboard popping up, I have never experienced that. It always opens when needed and doesn't when it isn't, so can't help you there.

The "Hangup", you would have to be more specific. Was there an app that stopped responding (which happens less on Android than iOS despite anecdotal evidence otherwise (as this somewhat dated study showsDid the device not respond as quickly as you thought it should?

Apple needs to fix the "tap-boxes" on some of its UI widgets. Specifically:

1) The top half of the top row of icons on the home screen are not responsive because the iPhone reserves that space for the notification center. That is simply way too much space when the typical motion is sliding from the top and can be detected with much less space, like how Android does it.

2) The tap-boxes on some smaller buttons are way too small and a cause of frequent annoyance. For example, the "x" button on Safari's address bar is too small. As is the purchase/install button in the App Store.

3) This is probably subjective, but in general I find that I have to force myself to tap lower than I'm used to. Whereas tap detection feels more intuitive on Android and Windows Phone.

iOS should not become bloated with more and more features just to be like Android. It can't beat Android at its own game and shouldn't try. Adding home screen widgets, giving the option of changing default keyboard, email or map software would only dilute the simple, clean message of iOS, and the few people it would appeal to will probably still end up buying an Android device.

A better idea would be to add a select few features offered by the most popular third-party software on Android (and in the Cydia store), and make them optional via a toggle in settings. Perhaps a 'motion typing' option in settings to make the iOS keyboard behave like Swype. But most definitely not change the default behaviour.

That's partly what they did with iOS 5. Looked at some of the most popular features people installed with jailbroken iPhones and built them directly into the OS.

iOS should not become bloated with more and more features just to be like Android. It can't beat Android at its own game and shouldn't try. Adding home screen widgets, giving the option of changing default keyboard, email or map software would only dilute the simple, clean message of iOS, and the few people it would appeal to will probably still end up buying an Android device.

A better idea would be to add a select few features offered by the most popular third-party software on Android (and in the Cydia store), and make them optional via a toggle in settings. Perhaps a 'motion typing' option in settings to make the iOS keyboard behave like Swype. But most definitely not change the default behaviour.

That's partly what they did with iOS 5. Looked at some of the most popular features people installed with jailbroken iPhones and built them directly into the OS.

So within one quote, you say " Adding home screen widgets, giving the option of changing default keyboard, email or map software would only dilute the simple, clean message of iOS" and then turn around and say " Perhaps a 'motion typing' option in settings to make the iOS keyboard behave like Swype". So you don't want to be able to install other keyboards, but you want the option of getting another keyboard. The thing is that third party developers like swype are innovating. Allowing them onto your device could only make it better. Now if you are happy with the default options, by all means, never install another keyboard or browser, or mail client, or maps app again. But I think most people at least want the ability to try out new things that they might like better.

So within one quote, you say " Adding home screen widgets, giving the option of changing default keyboard, email or map software would only dilute the simple, clean message of iOS" and then turn around and say " Perhaps a 'motion typing' option in settings to make the iOS keyboard behave like Swype". So you don't want to be able to install other keyboards, but you want the option of getting another keyboard. The thing is that third party developers like swype are innovating. Allowing them onto your device could only make it better. Now if you are happy with the default options, by all means, never install another keyboard or browser, or mail client, or maps app again. But I think most people at least want the ability to try out new things that they might like better.

This.

Exactly this. Popular options get included in core systems all the time. The popularity of Swype and SlideIT lead to the stock Android Keyboard including motion typing. But this kind of groundswell is only really effective when there are options easily available, and having a modular system via the official app-store is a lot of accessible than rooting/jailbreaking options. Creating a modular system does not mean ruining the default user experience automatically. The same 'grandma' type user will not install an alternative keyboard/dialer/etc and if they do, it is an always going to be an active action rather than an accidental one. This drives innovation in core apps forward quicker and would also bleed some of the disaffection from power-users away.

Although they all use the same engine, has the availability of alternative browsers made Safari any less than what it was? Now, would allowing Safari to be replaced as the system browser take anything away from the people who have not, and will never, install Chrome or another browser from the app store? The current browser situation on iOS is a bit of a kludge, and I fail to see how the core UX is being protected by only going half-way in allowing alternative browsers.

In a microcosm kind of way, this is what it is all about. On my iPhone, I tap settings, and the sixth item in the list is Brightness (no scroll needed). I tap that, and the slider to adjust it appears. You describe that as "buried deeply in the settings," where I would describe it as "right there." To me, two taps is plenty convenient.

So, let me get this straight: If you're in the middle of doing something in an application, you have to exit that, go into settings, tap brightness and then adjust said brightness. You then have to exit settings, find the application you were using and go from there.

As opposed to Android, where you pull the notification bar down in any application and adjust the brightness right there, push up the bar and you're back to where you were originally.

So, let me get this straight: If you're in the middle of doing something in an application, you have to exit that, go into settings, tap brightness and then adjust said brightness. You then have to exit settings, find the application you were using and go from there.

As opposed to Android, where you pull the notification bar down in any application and adjust the brightness right there, push up the bar and you're back to where you were originally.

Yeah, iOS doesn't need that convenience.

You can also: double tap the home button, swipe to the left twice, adjust brightness, tap the screen.

I personally almost never adjust screen brightness, the auto setting does a great job, but I see that having (or having the option to) have the slider in the pull down menu would be useful to quite some commenters in here.

I'm not an iOS user, but from having to deal with them at work:* USB HID support: YubiKeys are great...except for iOS users.* NFC: As above, for YubiKey Neo* OpenVPN support: more efficient than L2TP, more secure than PPTP, totally unsupported on unjailbroken iOS despite quite a few threads requesting it.

What are you talking about? I have Open VPN on my iPad, it even has an official app.

Really? App name?

It has been a few months, but when I looked you had to jailbreak for OpenVPN. If they've a readily-available, unjailbroken app, that's awesome.

apps install on the third screen and I have to move them to the first, the background moves as you scroll the screens

What you describes are the "proper" behavior of the platform. If you install a third party launcher, you can configure the background as static, but that's definitely not a "bug".

Zak wrote:

the keyboard pops up when not needed

It may be that the app you were using has the input "focus" defaults on an input box, in which case the keyboard would automatically pops up. It may be a bug, or it may be the behavior that the app wants.

But in any case, I would concede that iOS does feel more polished overall. They definitely do most things in a more consistent way.

The "Hangup", you would have to be more specific. Was there an app that stopped responding (which happens less on Android than iOS despite anecdotal evidence otherwise ([url=http://www.forbes.com/sites/tomiogeron/2012/02/02/does-ios-crash-more-than-android-a-data-dive/?]

I always thought that this is ingenious on Apple's part. Basically iOS never tells you that an app crashed, the most it does is the user found out that the app that they are using suddenly exit and they are in Home screen again. There are many times when I turn my iPad back on, found myself in Home screen, when it should have shown the previous app that I was using and never exit from. Most users wouldn't remember whether they've exit the last app or not, therefore not realizing the app was crashed.

Comparing this to Android, where all crashes are reported, sometimes it's some background app that does not affect the user's usage of the phone in any meaningful way, but they are still interrupted and be forced to acknowledge that something is wrong.

It's clear which method would leave a worse impression even if everything else being the same. Of course, the Android behavior does cause user uproars that force the offending apps to fix their issues, so I guess both platforms behaves the way they do because of what they values (feels right/higher user satisfaction v.s. do the right thing that may not really improve user satisfaction in a meaningful way)

So, let me get this straight: If you're in the middle of doing something in an application, you have to exit that, go into settings, tap brightness and then adjust said brightness. You then have to exit settings, find the application you were using and go from there.

As opposed to Android, where you pull the notification bar down in any application and adjust the brightness right there, push up the bar and you're back to where you were originally.

Yeah, iOS doesn't need that convenience.

I doubt this will happen on the basis that Apple doesn't solve problems that way.

Their first question would be "why are you continually finding the need to change the brightness?"

Once they know that, they'll try to solve that problem as opposed to just sticking a band aid (moving the setting) without understanding the issue that forces you to do such a mundane thing on a regular basis.

I doubt this will happen on the basis that Apple doesn't solve problems that way.

Their first question would be "why are you continually finding the need to change the brightness?"

Once they know that, they'll try to solve that problem as opposed to just sticking a band aid (moving the setting) without understanding the issue that forces you to do such a mundane thing on a regular basis.

The "issue" is that I want to adjust manually the brightness, I don't want any automatic setting.

I doubt this will happen on the basis that Apple doesn't solve problems that way.

Their first question would be "why are you continually finding the need to change the brightness?"

Once they know that, they'll try to solve that problem as opposed to just sticking a band aid (moving the setting) without understanding the issue that forces you to do such a mundane thing on a regular basis.

The "issue" is that I want to adjust manually the brightness, I don't want any automatic setting.

Well, technically, that's your solution. Whether or not it's the right solution (or applicable to anyone else apart from you) is unclear because we haven't yet worked out what your actual problem is. You are doing what I believe Americans like to call "solutionizing".

(Note: I'm not having a go at you, just explaining how product development works)

For example, why do you have to change the brightness setting all the time? What are you doing that necessitates this? What is it about automatic brightness that doesn't solve the problem?

(you don't have to answer, I can't influence iOS development any more than you can, sorry)

Pull-down settings, better autocorrect, and changing default apps are three of the reasons I run my iPad jailbroken (in addition to a few other minor usability tweaks). I use both Android and iOS on a pretty regular basis and while I have found iOS to have a more mature tablet-centric software market, there are definitely things I miss when going from my Nexus 7 or SGS2 to my iPad. Jailbreaking helps a bit since there are several useful apps and tweaks that have not/will not ever be signed by Apple but it's an inelegant solution on a platform known for its polish.

I can't see Apple putting a toggle in personally. Power users should know better than to turn on auto updating because you run the risk of getting broken updates and non power users shouldn't have risky implementations imposed upon them by default.

I would image the number of users who are willing to run the risk of broken updates is pretty low given the install base.

Less facetiously, I wouldn't mind a better way to move cursors around, but there needs to be a solution other than adding four more keys to the onscreen keyboard--it's cramped enough as it is.

What's fun about third-party keyboard is they can pack in many optional features. I've used Smart Keyboard Pro for years, and one of the things I love is programmable gestures. A swipe up on the keyboard reveals arrows. A swipe down reveals a numeric keypad.

So, let me get this straight: If you're in the middle of doing something in an application, you have to exit that, go into settings, tap brightness and then adjust said brightness. You then have to exit settings, find the application you were using and go from there.

As opposed to Android, where you pull the notification bar down in any application and adjust the brightness right there, push up the bar and you're back to where you were originally.

Yeah, iOS doesn't need that convenience.

I doubt this will happen on the basis that Apple doesn't solve problems that way.

Their first question would be "why are you continually finding the need to change the brightness?"

Once they know that, they'll try to solve that problem as opposed to just sticking a band aid (moving the setting) without understanding the issue that forces you to do such a mundane thing on a regular basis.

Yes, but until then, give people the ability to adjust as quickly as possible. I've used auto-brightness on both iPhones and Androids and it is just maddening. 90% of the time I keep S3 at 25% brightness -- my preference. Long-time use in a dark setting will make me want the lowest brightness. Watching a video of any length within in any app will make me want the highest brightness. Auto-brightness just constantly tries to optimize something that doesn't really need constant optimization.

It's part of the whole "[almost] no background tasks draining battery or impinging on teh snappy". The goal is laudable, even if the method needs some details worked out. I'm not sure I'd want background app updating--because in addition to eating battery, sure as shooting it'd always be when I want to quickly jot something down in Evernote that it would be in the middle of an update. But updating content in the background should definitely be an option, I agree.

I'm not an ios user, but can't you install custom keyboards on ios? On Android there are at least three-four different choices. I use the standard android keyboard that comes with the device but most of the people I know use 3rd party apps.

Nope. And what's really annoying, you don't even have access to the full set of already-Apple-sanctioned OS X keyboard layouts. So, no Dvorak on the iPad--which is, honestly, about half of why I haven't bought one yet (price being the other half).

Dvorak keyboard layout. I might like a swype-style keyboard, too, once I got used to it, but I've never used one. GPG or PGP in my email. Of course, I want that in all email programs--including Gmail--everywhere, switched on by default, so that people start using it. So this isn't so much an iOS request, as it is recognizing that iOS has a significant marketshare and mindshare, and anything that it does is likely to have an impact on the whole landscape. And allow me to add my voice to the chorus calling for something like "intents"--I want to be able to tell my iOS device "this is the email app; if you want to send an email, tell it". Secondary to that, deleting the core apps would be nice. Perhaps as a safety check, if Apple is worried about PBKAC, they could prevent deleting the "last" app that does certain core functions, like email. So if an app is registered as the handler for certain functions, it becomes undeletable, just like the core apps are right now.

In a microcosm kind of way, this is what it is all about. On my iPhone, I tap settings, and the sixth item in the list is Brightness (no scroll needed). I tap that, and the slider to adjust it appears. You describe that as "buried deeply in the settings," where I would describe it as "right there." To me, two taps is plenty convenient.

You forgot the double tap to bring up the app switcher, if you have it running, and then some scrolling around to find the Settings app.

I usually don't have it running, so I'd have to tap to exit the app I was using when I realized Ineeded to adjust the brightness, then the tap to close the folder that app is in, then the tap to get me to the main home screen, and *then* i get to tap on Settings, etc.

My biggest complaint is any functionality that involves a tap-and-hold gesture. I want it to do something instantly, not wait for me to hold my finger down on the screen for some period of time.

Another issue is anything (eg: webpages) where tapping twice performs a different action to tapping once. This is a huge design mistake, since it means the first tap cannot fire until after it has given up waiting for the second tap.

These are hard things to change without causing support nightmares with your customers, but I hope Apple does it - and the sooner the easier it will be. There is no user interface element (that I know of) on OS X where they have made this design mistake. For example you can single or double click a file to perform different actions, but when you double click the first click still performs the "click" action.

The equivalent on OS X--and MSWindows--is the click-and-release. Which I find every bit as annoying. As near as I can tell the default behaivor on MSWindows, precisely to avoid "accidental" clicks, is that the mouse button doesn't actually do whatever it is it's gonna do until you release it. On OS X, it used to be that you could either click-and-release, or click-and-hold, and you'd get the same result. Increasingly, the click-and-hold behavior doesn't work on Mac software. So instead of a single click-move-release gesture, I have to click-release, move, click-release, move, click-release (to, say, select an item on a submenu of a contextual menu). Hey, if you want extra clicking on your wrist, great, just give me the option to do it the old way, too. All the extra clicking to do things on MSWindows drives me batty (and has sent me to the doctor once already, since starting a job where I use it daily).

My beef is with sending stuff to myself. Oftentimes I'll see something on the internet that I want to use on my MBP and have to resort to texting/emailing myself, then saving it somewhere. I'd love a way to just beam stuff to my desktop or specific folders, at least when on the same network. Emailing yourself just feels so weird and sad.

Intents+Pocket is the perfect combination on Android for stuff like this. Not to mention that with cloud syncing, I can view an article on a larger screen on my desktop where it makes sense and add an article on my desktop to Pocket and read it later on my phone.

Not necessarily to be stolen from Android (I'm not sure what of these features are available on Android) but here's my list,

* Ability to replace default apps (specifically browser and mail)* Ability to disable default apps (presumably wouldn't be available until custom defaults because what do you do if they've disabled Safari and no web browser is available?)* Better connectivity between applications (again would probably come alongside default apps)* Multiple user support for iPad* App store for the Apple TV* Contextual services like Google Now. I can see this being introduced with the iWatch rather than on the phone which makes much more sense to me.* Autocorrect definitely, the UI doesn't frustrate me as such but if there's better alternatives I'm all for them. User editable dictionary is a must although I'd prefer the OS just learnt the words I use rather than having to manage a dictionary.* Siri needs to get much more integrated with third party apps. Again I can see this coming alongside the iWatch as we move towards wristwatch controller home automation etc.* Better file management support. I don't want access to the file system though, there needs to be a better alternative based around file types. For example, photo apps declaring that they can handle gifs, jpegs etc. and then having them shared between those applications. Tricky part here will be how best to organise since a single level file system wont work and you don't want folders displaying if an app doesn't support any of the files in them. Perhaps something to do with tags for organisation.

I can't see any reason for the quick toggles personally. A tap on settings gets you to personal hotspot and do not disturb. Do not disturb for the most part should manage itself anyway (i.e. don't disturb me after 10 when I'm in bed). Everything else should manage itself as best it can to preserve power (there's a light sensor for a reason). I'd rather the UI was kept clutter free ready for features that make more sense in the future, especially when you're dealing with a screen as small as a mobile.

In terms of the home screen shortcuts it sounds like this may be better suited to Siri. If you need quick access to deep functionality that's exactly the problem Apple wants Siri to solve". Home button hold, "Show me directions to home." etc.

Welcome to Android. Not to be a troll, with a single line response, but seriously, every single thing on the list and some can be done on Android - many since v1.

I already have an iPad 3 but I wanted to mess around with Android. I just received my Nexus 7 this weekend and while Android (4.2.2) doesn't appear to be as polished as iOS I do like some features, like the gesture sign-in or the quick access to network settings via the pull down. On the other hand it seems to be a bit buggy: apps install on the third screen and I have to move them to the first, the background moves as you scroll the screens, the keyboard pops up when not needed and it already hung once over the weekend. Google maps rock though, I already got a car mount and can't wait to give it a shot!

I always felt that Android apps has much better usability than iPhone apps (because of the OS limitations) but looked like crap. I used to like the skeumorphic L&F of iOS. But I now find Android's Holo look cleaner. So interested to see what you find more polished on iOS. The icons install on the center screen because that's the home screen. If you press the Home button the center screen will be displayed if no already on it. BTW, installing the icon on the desktop can be disabled. The background moves as you scroll the screen intentionally. I don't use the default shell so don't know if it can be disabled on that. But it can be disabled (and even made to go in the reverse direction for an interesting effect) in Nova launcher. The keyboard should only pop up if the focus is in a text field. Yes, even now, it will hang from time to time. But then again, so has the iPhone for me.

So, let me get this straight: If you're in the middle of doing something in an application, you have to exit that, go into settings, tap brightness and then adjust said brightness. You then have to exit settings, find the application you were using and go from there.

As opposed to Android, where you pull the notification bar down in any application and adjust the brightness right there, push up the bar and you're back to where you were originally.

Yeah, iOS doesn't need that convenience.

I doubt this will happen on the basis that Apple doesn't solve problems that way.

Their first question would be "why are you continually finding the need to change the brightness?"

Once they know that, they'll try to solve that problem as opposed to just sticking a band aid (moving the setting) without understanding the issue that forces you to do such a mundane thing on a regular basis.

I think that, right there is the problem. Every one behaves differently and hence everyone one has a different way they make their phones their own. I almost always set my brightness to max brightness. And at night in bed, I'll set it to min. But occasionally I use a different setting - eg. someone walks out while using the phone and needs to increase the brightness. The thing though is not just brightness. I can toggle auto-rotate, mobile date, GPS (rarely these days), wifi (quite often), flash for torch (almost every night).

One of my favorite app is Gesture Search (https://play.google.com/store/apps/deta ... turesearch). I don't recall the last time I have opened the Contacts app to talk to someone. I always use Gesture Search which I launch from the notification shade (customized) to draw the first letter or so to get the person's contact and call them. The thing is, as some have pointed, I'm sure no one in Android development thought that someone would use the notification shade to call someone, but it was designed to be open from the ground up and it acts as an enabler of great ideas.

BTW, addressing several comments: the iOS dictionary does learn from your corrections (or rejections of corrections). Though it takes lots of training to do so--it feels like you have to insist on a word something like 5 times before it believes you, or maybe it's 3 times in a row (that is, without accepting the autocorrection) or something. I haven't kept close track. And that's still no substitute for being able to also manually edit the dictionary, in case you accidentally put a word in that you don't want, or would just like to tell it that it's wrong on something.